Intertwined
by HappyPNF
Summary: AU With the death of Cedric, the lack of support from Dumbledore, and Fudge's mingling; Harry decided he was going AWOL. Disappearing in the middle of the night from the Dursleys during the summer, the wizarding world never heard from their savior again. An Auror has been sent to track down and capture Harry, but will things be as black and white as her superiors portray it? HONKS
1. Prologue

**A/N:** **Another idea... so here it is. Prologue starts at the end of Fourth Year. The story itself takes place in Fifth Year. Canon Fourth Year, but AU Fifth Year.  
**

******DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. That is JK Rowling's. Otherwise, I'd be a filthy rich teen cruising in a Rolls-Royce right now :P  
**

* * *

_"Kill the spare!"_

Harry screamed as he dreamed of the graveyard again. The green light of death that hit Cedric constantly replayed in his mind. The helpless look on Cedric's face as he recognized this was it. This breath Cedric was inhaling was the last one he would take. This was the moment Cedric would last think of Cho. This was the last moment Cedric could be himself before he was going to die. In short, it was the look of the damned. And Harry was haunted by fact he could have prevented it. Damn his chivalrous self; if he had taken the cup, then Cedric would never have died. Harry wouldn't be haunted in the night and that weight that Harry had to carry around. It was… indescribable. The life of a person that weighed on your shoulders; it was something that Harry found beyond burdensome. He was haunted in the day by the screams and the dirty looks. He was haunted in the night by the helpless look forever plastered on Cedric's face. And the look Cho gave Harry made him even guiltier. Her forehead and facial expression clearly said, "You murdered Cedric you bastard!"

That brought Harry to the talk he had with Dumbledore. The nerve of the old man! Do nothing?! Do nothing my ass! Dumbledore was right in one point; Fudge will NEVER accept the return of Voldemort. And right now, the Daily Prophet was chanting out bloody murder. Bloody murder committed by Harry Potter against Cedric Diggory. Bloody murder that Dumbledore dare support Harry's "insane" explanation of how Cedric died. Remembering the articles made Harry angry. If only those reporters were in his shoes goddamn it! Life is NOT easy!

Harry calmed himself and remembered what Dumbledore had talked about. The basic idea was that the cause was hopeless; unless Voldemort decided to go into Diagon Alley and blow it to smithereens, no one was going to believe Voldemort was back. More like no one _wanted_ to accept the fact Voldemort was back. Despite some support, Harry knew that the Ministry led by Fudge was going to keep a blind eye. Actually, they were going to tighten control over Hogwarts and keep an eye on Harry and Dumbledore for the matter. Instead of devoting precious resources to undermine Voldemort's support base and Death Eaters, they were going to devote energy into practically incarcerating Harry and Dumbledore. And what was her name again? Umbritch? Whatever. The mad pink toad lady more like it. Fudge was actually going to stick the toad into DADA!

That was what broke Harry's barrier. He could tolerate Dumbledore. But he WILL NOT tolerate the Ministry especially the way Fudge was handling things. No, Harry had to go. He had to go and prepare for the imminent war himself. He had to go.

* * *

**A month later…**

Harry picked up a news clipping on the ground. It was from the Daily Prophet.

**GOOD RIDDANCE! HARRY POTTER, THE BOY-WHO-MURDERED HAS DISAPPEARED! MINISTRY HAS ISSUED ARREST WARRANT FOR MR. POTTER.**

Harry shook his head; let's see how things go.

* * *

**Half a year later…**

A blonde haired Harry Potter strolled into Diagon Alley looking for NEWT spell books. A random clipping from the Daily Prophet lying on the ground caught Harry's attention.

**ATTACKS ON MUGGLES ON THE RISE; EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE INNOCENCE FOR MR. POTTER. **

Ha! Like anybody really cared for Harry Potter as Harry Potter. Harry crumbled the paper and threw it into a trash can. He continued on his way to gather the books he needed to train himself.

* * *

**A year later…**

Harry concentrated on the dummy in front of him that was constantly spewing spells at Harry. Harry had long foregone the art of shielding; his shield was his flexibility. Harry dodged, swerved, and moved away from the spells that headed his way. In the brief lapses of spell casting, Harry would let fly a spell before continuing. After a good half an hour, the dummy exploded into shreds as Harry landed a _Reducto_ on the dummy.

Harry closed his eyes and imagined that he was in a forest. Opening his eyes, he received what was desired. Pointing at a random point in the forest, he uttered, "_Bombarda Maxima_."

BOOM!

Chunks of wood, plant material, and dirt flew everywhere as a sizable crater was created in the forest. Harry grinned; this was going to be useful one day. For now, he thought of a comfortable bed in the Room of Requirements. He had to give Dobby a houseful of socks this Christmas; this Room of Requirements is practically a gift from the heavens.

Harry awoke to the sunlight that filtered through the windows in the room. Blindly grabbing a pair of glasses on a table, his world came into focus. The quaint room he has been inhabiting for the last year has been alright. This was his bedroom, his private loo, training room, and dining room. Harry couldn't thank the creators of the Room of Requirements enough; this was perfect. Well, except that Harry needed potion supplies, the one shortfall of the room. Harry disillusioned himself and crept out of Hogwarts. When he reached the edge of the wards that surrounded Hogwarts, he apparated to Diagon Alley.

Harry was about to disillusion himself when a scream pierced the somewhat quiet Alley. Then another, and then the cackling of a madwomen. One word crossed his mind (**insert swear word here** :P)

Harry pulled his wand out and slowly approached the direction where he had heard the screams. They had died out some time ago, but Harry remembered the direction of the screams. Treading on the street quickly, he rounded a corner to see a pink-haired woman fighting three masked and hooded men. Her hair was slightly disheveled and dirty, but she otherwise looked fine. Harry saw that even with the three men pitted against her, the woman fought on valiantly. Harry was entranced; he had never seen anyone take a stand in the face of such odds. There! Harry saw a stunner hit one of the hooded men and he toppled over. The other others just kept going at the woman. The woman was not tiring at all so far ten minutes into the duel. Harry was still mesmerized by the scene until the woman tripped on a rock on the street. Immediately, a cutting curse slashed her leg and a stunner hit her. The men were about to take the woman when Harry jumped in.

He pointed his wand at the closest one, "_Stupefy_!"

The oaf never had the time to think before he fell like a log next to his other stunned compatriot. The last hooded man looked around in bewilderment as he was trying to pinpoint the aggressor. Harry swiftly landed a stunner at the man, who toppled to the ground. Harry then walked over to the woman. From a-far, he knew that this woman was not an ordinary one. Who had pink hair in the first place? Harry first removed the disillusioning charm from himself. Then, he examined her back. Seeing nothing wrong with her back, Harry gently flipped her over and found nothing else. The only injury she sustained was a bleeding cut on her leg. Harry conjured some bandages and wrapped them tightly around the bleeding wound; he would let the healers at St. Mungo's heal it. Seeing that the woman was fit to move on her own, he muttered, "_Rennervate_."

Her eyelids shot open and a pair of brilliant pink orbs met Harry. Her eyes widened and she was about to let fly a spell at Harry when Harry raised his hands up, "Woah there! Just woke you up and now you're trying to kill me!"

The woman looked at Harry inquisitively and then narrowed her eyes, "Who are you?"

Harry was about to reply when a red stunner hit the woman. Harry groaned and turned around, letting a _Reducto_ flying from his wand.

Squelch!

Blood sprayed the street and a man screamed. Harry saw at least a dozen hooded people walking towards him. One of their number was clutching his stump on his shoulder that had previously had an arm attached to it. So that's where the scream came from…

Harry made a snap decision and took the pink-haired woman with him and dove behind a concession cart that was conveniently close by. A couple spells thudded against the cart and some pieces of the cart flew around. The sounds of glass breaking and wood smashing was heard as the hooded people started to barge into the shops. Screams filled the air as shoppers and owners found themselves under attack by these assailants. Harry peered over the cart to find the hooded people were not attacking him at this point and saw some of the hooded people heading into some sort of thrift store. The front glass windows were all gone and merchandise was strewn all over the sidewalk. The front door had a sizable hole in it so that entering the shop no longer required the use of the door. Harry disillusioned the pink-haired woman and swiftly ran towards the shop, hoping he could stop anything bad happening.

Harry stumbled into the shop and found that the hooded people had a man held at wandpoint.

One of the hooded people growled in a masculine voice, "Where is your money?"

Another one pushed the scared man against the wall, making the man start to whimper in pain.

Harry had enough. Seeing the shop was a lost cause anyways and the man was a good couple feet away from the hooded people, Harry shouted, "_Bombarda Maxima_!"

The three men blasted away from each other and thudded against the walls. Sliding down the walls of the shop, their heads lolled to one side and they did not move again. Harry quickly casted stunners at all three of them and walked up to the trembling man.

Harry held a hand out and the man gratefully accepted it and Harry helped the man up, "Are you ok sir?"

The man nodded, still slightly shaky, "Y-Yes, I'm fine. Thank you! I would not know what I would do if you had not come! Anna! Coast is clear!"

A woman and a small sleeping boy that was cradled in her arms appeared from a hidden door.

The man again shook Harry's hand, "I cannot express how much I owe you sir. Thank you very much."

Screams could be heard outside in the meantime. Harry briskly nodded, "Keep yourself and your family hidden for now. It's very dangerous out there."

The man ushered his wife and child back to the hiding place and smiled at Harry, "Thank you sir, may Merlin bless you! Hey! What is your name?"

Harry quickly fired back, "Harry."

Before the man could further question, Harry quickly strode out of the shop and saw that the shop across the street was torn apart. Harry walked inside to find a pool of blood and a man sprawling across the countertop, apparently having been tortured to death. Harry grimaced at the smell and the death that clung the air and quickly exited. He then ran towards the sources of the screams.

A mad cackle again filled the Alley and Harry saw a poorly dressed woman with unkempt oily hair pointed her wand at a girl on the ground, who was screaming as she was being crucioed. Harry quickly pointed at the woman and shouted, "_Stupefy_!"

The woman instantly stopped torturing the child and turned her attention to Harry. The woman sneered, "A hero eh? Let's see how long you last. _CRUCIO_!"

Harry nimbly dodged the curse and said, "_Bombarda Maxima_!"

A crater was created on the street and the woman was flung into a shop. The girl was untouched by the explosion and was quietly whimpering on the ground. Harry would come back for the girl later; he needed to rid of this sick pediophile. Who tortures children for fun in the first place?

Harry found the woman, who pointed a wand at Harry's temple, "_Crucio_!"

Harry felt himself kneeling forwards and feeling himself being stabbed by hundreds of hot-knives on his skin. In the midst of the pain, Harry concentrated on shouting, "_Reducto_!"

The pain immediately stopped as the woman lost balance and toppled onto a shelf. That was enough for Harry to point at the general location of the woman and said "_Stupefy_!"

The woman immediately went limp and Harry was relieved. Damn woman's crucio was torturous. Harry then looked around for anybody in the shop, but found no one besides himself and this crazy woman. Harry exited the shop and kneeled to the young girl, who was slightly whimpering. Harry hugged the girl and softly patted her, "Shush… its ok now."

The girl whimpered into Harry's arm and then looked up at him, "Is the crazy lady gone?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, she won't hurt you again."

The girl smiled at Harry, "Thanks, you are my hero."

Harry slightly blushed at that, "Err… thanks. Do you think you could stand up?"

The girl tried to stand up, but her wobbly legs failed to support her weight. Harry lifted the six or seven year old in his arms. Dropping her gently on a bench nearby, he said, "Now stay here, I need to make sure that there are no more crazy people, alright?"

The girl looked wildly around; her eyes betraying the fear in her. Harry tried to console her, "Don't worry; I won't let them hurt you. Just stay here."

The girl managed to reply, "But what about you?"

Harry smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry about me; crazy ladies are no match for me. And what's your name?"

The girl said, "Alma."

Harry nodded, "I'll be back Alma."

Harry walked down the cobblestone street, looking into every shop he passed by. He shook his head sadly; the hooded men had done their work well. Harry then heard the loud cracks of people apparating into the Alley. Raising a wand at the closest person, Harry almost let fly a spell when he recognized the robes worn by Aurors. Harry kept his wand firm though; they could be imposters.

One of them stepped forward, which happened to be a burly dark-skinned Auror with a gold earring in his left ear. He said, "I am Auror Captain Shacklebolt. Would you kindly hand over your wand? We have been called in about a disturbance here and we are not sure if you are the instigator of this mess or a bystander."

Harry pointed at the girl behind him, "With all due respect Auror Shacklebolt, I am NOT the instigator. There is this little girl that was tortured by the Cruciatus curse only a few minutes ago and I had to help her."

The Auror told one of his men, "Jackson! Bring that girl to St. Mungo's! Everyone else, damage assessment and comb the area for any of the attackers. If you find Harry Potter, arrest him."

The Aurors scrambled to do their assigned tasks and the burly Auror turned to Harry, "Now do not let me ask you again sir. Please hand over your wand or you may be implicated."

Alma screamed and kicked at the poor Auror who was attempting to escort the girl. Harry hollered, "Alma! It's ok! He is just going to bring you to a doctor."

Alma immediately stopped screaming and kicking and the Auror gently scooped the girl into his arms. Harry then focused his attention back to the burly Auror in front of him.

Harry shook his head, "Sorry Auror, I can't do that."

Harry apparated away, leaving the lead Auror cursing, "Damn! We did not erect the anti-apparation wards!"

Harry meanwhile only apparated a short distance away. He went to the cart that he had used for cover and pointed at the ground and removed the disillusion charm casted on the pink-haired woman. He then murmured, "_Rennervate_."

Again, the woman's eyes opened and they narrowed when they saw Harry again. Her wand again pointed at Harry, "You again?"

Harry backed away, "Look, I don't know who you are and you don't know who I am, but we were just attacked by what looks like Death Eaters. Ministry Aurors have arrived, so everything is ok for now. Could you please put the wand down? I had just revived you twice!"

The woman shook her head, "No can do. Now scram; I'm a Ministry Auror for your information."

Geez… is this woman on her period? Harry had just saved her arse and she's as cranky as a stuck up git! Harry narrowed his own pair of eyes at her, "Will do nameless _Auror_. My name is Harry by the way."

Harry apparated away, slightly peeved. Who was this Auror? She wasn't someone that he had seen before. And why were there possible Death Eaters in Diagon Alley?

* * *

**A week after…**

Harry sighed as he sat on the bed. How he had missed the company of his friends. How he had missed the times when Ron was a total idiot (drooling at Fleur in Fourth-year), when Ron was excitedly talking about Quidditch… how Hermione had babbled on about some arcane branch of a subject and explaining every single thing that she read from the book. But the comfort was that this was the way. This temporary solitude was a step closer to rid of Voldemort; the bane of everyone's lives. Harry knew he was going to miss out some of his teenage years, but he was willing to trade that for a normal life afterwards.

Harry was still pondering when Hedwig arrived. Attached to her leg was a Daily Prophet article. He scanned the headline.

**DIAGON ALLEY ATTACKED BY MYSTERIOUS MEN, 24 KILLED AND 128 WOUNDED. HARRY POTTER IMPLICATED IN PLANNING ATTACK ACCORDING TO MINISTER FUDGE.**

Harry was incensed. How dare that son of a twitch blame him for Death Eater activity! And "mysterious men?" How friggin' uncreative of the Ministry. And what about that mad woman that Harry had incapacitated? That was not a "man." Harry saw that it was plain and simple; Death Eaters of Voldemort. But the Ministry is still not budging…

Harry's attention was caught on an article that was next to the main article. A picture of him in disguise was shown on top of the heading.

**MYSTERIOUS SAVIOR IN MIDST OF TRAGEDY? **

Harry groaned. So now they were going to appreciate Harry Potter eh? Nope, because it wasn't "Harry Potter." Well, that's good; at least Harry saw his glamours were flawless and that no one identified him.

* * *

**Meanwhile, a dozen or so miles away…**

Tonks was not having the best week in her life. One, her boss had given her a find and capture assignment. That's just… plain wrong. Second, she was still seething after one of the newbie Aurors tried to hit on her. Let's just say that for the next couple days, a certain appendix will be non-functional. Third, she was attacked in Diagon Alley. Well, Diagon Alley was attacked, but she was one of the first to be attacked. Now that brought her attention to the mysterious blonde-haired savior. He had somehow looked… familiar. His eyes… emerald eyes. The messy hair; the pair of glasses. But it can't be him! There was no scar, unless… DING! DING! DING! We have a winner! Glamour charms! But why would Harry Potter do this? Tonks could imagine how bad it was for the Daily Prophet to slander him. But he had come back for reasons unknown and had saved her. Not once, but twice. Despite her pissy attitude at him, he still did that. And he had saved a couple others according to the Daily Prophet.

But that wasn't the point; the point is that she was one step closer into finding Harry Potter. She felt her consciousness was going to be damned, but she was not going to lose her Auror position if she did not do the next part; capture Harry Potter for incarceration in Azkaban for killing Cedric Diggory That was what she was assigned to do. Tonks shook the thoughts off and concentrated on tracking down Harry Potter; she did not have a choice. But the incident at Diagon Alley had shaken Tonks' previous beliefs; was Harry Potter really an insane cold-blooded killer as the Prophet said?

* * *

**A/N: I'll start updating this in a couple weeks. Any support and reviews are always appreciated. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chap 1 - Damn Blood Quills

Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt sat on his chair in the office looking through some papers. Nothing… nothing… and nothing. No sign of Harry Potter anywhere. He shook his head and filed the papers away. He needs to find Harry before Fudge could get his hands on him. Kingsley was not blind; he was there himself at the Third Task. He knew Harry enough; he was not a killer. Powerful for his age, but a killer was a definite no-no. Kingsley even went to Hogwarts with James Potter; he was a fine, although a slightly odd bloke. Totally nowhere near a murdering type though. Kingsley vowed that he would do what he could in his power to protect the last Potter. He knew his employment would at stake, but he was going to die before condemning a teen to Azkaban. At that moment, his office resonated with the sounds of someone knocking on the door.

Without looking away from his papers, he said, "Come in."

The door opened and quickly shut.

Kingsley looked up and politely smiled, "Good evening Minister."

Fudge just sat in the chair across Kingsley and went to the point, "Auror Shacklebolt, how has your search of the Potter boy yielded?"

Kingsley replied, "No signs of Harry Potter Minister."

Fudge nodded, keeping a cool look. Years of running for public seats had long killed off the betrayal of emotion, "Keep trying Auror, we cannot let a murderer be on the loose in the streets. The people are calling for the head of the person who led the attack on Diagon Alley last week, which as we know, is Harry Potter."

Thanks to the intensive Auror training, Kingsley kept a cool composure on his physical features. Inside, a simmering anger at the Minister started to brew. How the fuck does this baboon think of these crazy things?! The attackers were bloody Death Eaters! Even a baby could tell the difference! Kingsley pretended to shuffle through some papers that were conveniently stacked on his desk, "Yes Minister."

The Minister tersely nodded, "Good day Auror Shacklebolt."

Kingsley replied, "Good day to you too Minister."

The door opened and closed and the room went silent. Kingsley sighed; the search for Harry was going to be more urgent now. And apparently, the Minister was going to spread among the Auror ranks of the "murderer" Harry Potter. If Harry was given over to Fudge… game over. Kingsley was going to hope that he had enough men and women who he could trust to be on his side to weather out this political turmoil. Damn… there was war coming and Fudge is starting to divide the Ministry... At that moment, the door burst open and a pink-haired Auror bustled inside, rather rudely slamming the door shut. Kingsley slightly smiled; old habits die hard, "Good evening Tonks."

Tonks simply sat down, "Good evening sir."

Kingsley continued, "So did you find Harry Potter?"

She shook her head, "Not a sign of him at all sir."

Kingsley replied, "Continue your search Tonks; we cannot let a murderer be on the loose. Report back to me when you find him."

Tonks said, "Yes sir."

Kingsley dismissed her, "Good day Tonks."

Tonks shuffled out of the office and went back to tracking down Harry Potter. Kingsley meanwhile shook his head; he hoped that Tonks would be see the lies in Fudge because things are going to be very soon more than just capturing Harry Potter.

* * *

Harry awoke to another sunny day in the Fall. Not that it really mattered; the days were nearly meaningless to Harry. He had spent his fifteenth birthday… alone two months before. No chanting Weasley's, no random pranks, no presents, no nothing. What was that muggle term? Sans? Yeah, sans everything. Just Harry himself and an ecstatic Dobby who gave Harry a pair of brilliant purple socks. At least it was the thought that counts… even from a house elf. Christmas rolled around and you guessed it… just a Dobby with a pair of socks and a Harry with a giant pine tree! Therefore, did the days really matter?

Harry lazily stretched and got himself ready for another day of practice. Now he knew why Hermione was so immersed into the books; it can get very addicting. Especially if the only other thing you could do besides reading was twiddling your thumbs, playing a one-player monopoly game, or running around and working out. Nearly finished changing, Dobby appeared with a resounding pop in the room.

"Breakfast is here Harry Potter sir!"

Harry smiled as he saw the ecstatic house elf. A sizable breakfast platter, a fork, and a very optimistic house-elf; it's the normal breakfast cuisine here in the Room of Requirements. Of course, optimism is only ingested mentally; physically ingesting the house-elf would be wrong on so many levels and would cease the flow of optimism. Not to mention, Dobby was a nice companion to have around when he's not bashing his head against a wall or rock.

* * *

Harry panted as he finished jogging three miles in half an hour. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he threw his shirt into a basket and entered the shower to get a refresher and to rid of the sweaty smell that clung to his body.

The day went by normally; eat, read, workout, practice, and more practice...

* * *

Tonks groaned as she found nothing useful in Diagon Alley. There were simply too many spells that were casted. And the apparation trail left by "Harry"? They led to the outskirts of Hogwarts. But Harry was reported to have not attended Hogwarts this year, so why would he be there? And if he is there, wouldn't Dumbledore know? But to confund your apparation trail is extremely hard… damn. This was going to be much harder than what Tonks had originally thought. Time to put on a thinking cap Tonks; there's a murderer on the loose!

* * *

**One month later (October in Fifth-year)…**

Harry was slowly starting to find himself lasting much longer now in a duel thanks to his self-workouts. Now he could sustain at least half an hour of non-stop casting. Now he needed to perfect his apparation for multiple reasons. One is obvious; a quick quiet escape. Two, a dueling handbook had suggested apparating in the midst of a duel to make the situation more dynamic. But if he apparated as loud as he is now, it's rather pointless. And third… third is the stroking of the private ego that Harry could apparate silently at the age of fifteen. Hmm… how to apparate silently. Harry pulled a book out and started to read. Thank goodness this room was full of nearly everything the wisher wanted.

Before Harry could grasp any part of the concept, a loud pop emanated in the room. Harry continued reading.

"Harry Potter sir! Dobby has news!"

Harry immediately stopped reading and looked up.

"Miss Toady is using evil red quills for punishment!"

Harry immediately raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? The toad is using blood quills?"

"Yes sir! Dobby has seen terrible scars by evil red quills! Miss Toady is evil! Very evil! Worser than Malfoy!"

Harry scrunched his face in thought. Hah! So much for being a Ministry worker. Here it is, your own inquisitor using illegal and banned magical items. Oh yeah… this might be perfect.

Harry smiled at Dobby, "Thank you Dobby. I'll think of a way to destroy the blood quills."

Dobby bobbled his head up and down, "Harry Potter is great wizard! Dobby be back to kitchens."

Another pop and the house-elf disappeared. Harry then looked through his trunk and found desired object; the Marauder's Map.

Harry whispered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

The map started to ink itself and a layout of Hogwarts appeared. Tiny dots with names above them scattered the map. The majority of the dots were clustered in the classrooms as it was class time now. A few dots scattered randomly in the halls for whatever reason, but that was not what Harry looked at. Harry just focused on one dot; Dolores Umbridge. So that's her name… we'll see how long she will stay as high inquisitor. More like a cover up inquisition to crush Dumbledore, Harry, and the arts of DADA. Harry tucked the map away and started to think of a plan to dethrone the toad bitch. If Harry had paid closer attention to the map, he would have seen a tiny dot labeled "Nymphadora Tonks" roaming on the school grounds.

* * *

Harry started to brainstorm. How was he going to do this? Stealing the quills and presenting them to the Ministry is a stupid idea; not only would Harry get locked up for having the quills, Umbridge would probably get an even firmer grip on Hogwarts. No, that's a no can do.

So what about killing Umbridge? Nah, too bloody and again, Harry was going to get locked up. That's an option Z though…

So what about… a camera? Yeah, that muggle device that can take pictures and videos? Definitely going to be a more sound plan. Possible option A.

So what about… using Legilimency? NO! Harry didn't even want to go there.

So what about… truth serum? Hmm… that's a plausible idea, but where to get the serum? And how was Harry going to corner Umbridge to a point where the Ministry run by Fudge would cave in to resorting to the use of the truth serum? This might be good after proving Umbridge was guilty. Possible option C.

So what about… destroying the blood quills? That's actually not that bad of an idea. Since the quills are illegal to own and use, the only way would be to get them from the black market. And if a Ministry worker, especially one hand-picked by Fudge, is known to be dealing with the black market… that would be very disastrous news for Fudge. Sounds like a good candidate for option A.

So what about… impersing Umbridge and making her bring the quills to the Ministry and confess her wrongdoing? Hmm… that's…. a very bad idea. Fudge would probably kiss her forehead and shoo her away telling her that she had done her job well. Nope, that's a for sure bad idea. Don't need a promoted toad waddling about.

So what about … yeah. Harry had sort of blanked out. Two words kept popping into his mind though. Pens… sieves… argh! Harry scribbled on a piece of parchment of his ideas and went to grab a book about the mind. Maybe Harry could extract a memory or something like that from Umbridge.

Harry slowly sifted through each page, methodically scanning the text in front of him. Not much to note so far besides that memories could be extracted. But how? And where do you store these "memories?"

After shifting through countless pages, Harry hissed in annoyance as the book was both useful and useless. Useful that he learned more about memories. Useless that the book did not show how to extract and store the memories. Harry shut the book and was about to grab another one when another pop was heard in the room.

"Harry Potter sir! Dumblydore is having phoenix meeting!"

Harry nodded, "Thanks Dobby."

Dobby bowed and popped out. Harry mulled over the thought for a moment and decided to cloak himself. Disillusioning only goes so far; the cloak does a better job. He just hoped Dumbledore wasn't going to be too observative today.

An invisible Harry walked towards the headmaster's office and he waited for anybody to enter. Luckily, Snape came along and conveniently opened the door. Harry quickly slunk into the room and hid in a spot where he would be out of sight from Dumbledore and Mad-eye. Or at least he hoped so.

Harry heard the sounds of some chairs scraping the floor as occupants started to sit on the chairs. This must be a small meeting as there was only a handful of the members that were present.

Harry heard the conversing in the room increase in volume until Dumbledore flatly stated, "Silence please."

The room instantly went quiet.

Harry then heard a whisper and then Dumbledore spoke, "We have gathered here today on some important news. First of all, it appears that Death Eater activity has spiked. Am I correct?"

A chorus of "yes" and "yeahs" or something agreeing to the statement followed Dumbledore's words.

Dumbledore spoke again, "And just this last week, Diagon Alley was attacked by Death Eaters. Minister Fudge has denied that Voldemort and his followers were involved, but as we all know, that is façade by Fudge to show the wizarding world everything is ok. Let me repeat; everything is NOT ok. Voldemort has no doubt risen again; our Harry and the late Cedric Diggory is the testament of the rise of Voldemort. Add in spiked muggle deaths and this brazen attack on Diagon Alley in broad daylight, it is safe to assume Voldemort has indeed arisen. Does anyone in here have any questions or doubts?

A chorus of "no's" were heard.

Dumbledore continued, "There has been a rather strange phenomenon that occurred when the Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley. Do you remember the blonde-haired young wizard that was on the Daily Prophet?"

Some "yes" could be heard, but some were silent.

"After scrutinizing the photo, Nymphadora here has concluded that this mysterious young wizard is no other than Harry Potter himself."

Immediately, a slight hubbub of conversing started. Harry heard a woman complaining something about "Nymphadora" and "Tonks" or something like that, but the hubbub was too loud for him to decipher the talk.

"SILENCE! Now that I have that laid out, I have retrieved the memory of meeting the young wizard from Nymphadora's point of view. I have stored the memory in my personal Pensieve…"

Aha! Harry now connected the dots! So the Pensieve is the object that stores and views memories! So Harry needs to get a Pensieve… but how was he going to siphon the memories out? Harry recalled that Dumbledore extracted a thin silver thread from his head and stored it inside a small tube after Harry had completed the Third Task. Back to the drawing board…

Harry waited for all the occupants to enter the "pensieve" and he quickly exited the office, not taking a single glance back. If he did, he would have noticed that a pink-haired Auror was investigating Harry's former hiding spot and looking around inquisitively for signs of the person that previously inhabited the corner in the office.

Harry put all the options on the table. So from easy to most plausible, Harry found the muggle camera idea to be the easiest. So if that plan fails, extracting a memory from Umbridge would probably be the next best option or destroying the blood quills. Of course, all plans need the truth serum in the end to confirm Umbridge's guilt. And Harry has to do all of this while staying anonymous. Crap.

Harry disillusioned himself and walked out of Hogwarts. Reaching the edge of Hogwarts' wards, he apparated to London. He started his search at a local dollar store. Isn't that the best place to start?

* * *

Tonks was slightly miffed. She swore there are some magical signatures here… and they keep going nowhere. First in the office she found a strange presence. Turns out, NOTHING. Nada, zip-zilch. All Tonks found was air and dust. But she had a slightly feeling this trail would eventually lead to somewhere. And now the trail was going outside of the office. Tonks groaned; she felt like a dumb stalking cat instead of an Auror. Couldn't someone else like Mad-eye do this? That made her think of her actions at the moment. Her heart wasn't exactly pure of the late; if the Order found out she was sided with the Ministry, she was going to be damned. But she felt that the Order was wrong; Harry is a murderer and needs to be brought to justice. Dumbledore is just too naive to her opinion; too deluded by the boy-who-lived image. Why else would Harry be on the run? If you are innocent, you don't go running away from jurisdiction.

* * *

As Harry found out, dollar stores were NOT good places to find a camera. So Harry ventured to the local Walmart. And boy did he find cameras… why are there so many kinds, shapes, colors, and names? Harry picked off the most expensive one when he realized something; he had no pounds with him. Without pounds, he can't pay… and Harry doubted they would accept galleons. Harry decided he was going to err… "borrow" it. He was about to walk out when a guard stopped him.

The guard pulled on Harry's shirt roughly, "Hey kiddo, whatcha' gonna' do with that camera?"

Harry pulled away, "What do you mean sir?"

The guard made a lunge for the camera, but Harry made a run for it. Harry weaved through some shoppers going through the front door and ran outside. Looking left and right and seeing no cars, he sprinted for cover behind some parked cars. By then, a handful of security guards started roaming the parking lot; evidently searching for Harry. Seeing that there were no witnesses, Harry apparated himself back to Hogwarts' grounds.

Harry landed with a soft thud on the grass and forced himself to calm down. Breathe in… breathe out. Breathe in… breathe out. There we go; adrenaline rush has slowed down. Harry disillusioned himself and then realized something; he could have disillusioned himself back at the Walmart. Oh well, you learn new things every day. Now to start planning the downfall of toad bitch; step one towards making the Ministry rid of deluded Fudge-following fools and to resume REAL DADA lessons.

Harry entered the Room of Requirements without problem and took the camera out and found a surprise; it smoked. Smoke billowed slowly out of the camera and a heavy burnt smell filled the room. Harry immediately let go of the camera and a couple seconds later, it promptly exploded. Looks like muggle cameras don't mix with magic. Well duh! If Hermione was here, she probably would have babbled on about how Harry should have listened. Oh well... next plan then; blood quill destruction. And it would start right now. Harry disillusioned himself and left to execute the "mission."

* * *

Ronald Weasley sighed dejectedly as he prepared himself for more torture from the new DADA teacher. Apparently, the Weasley temper clashed heavily with the sickeningly pro-Fudge DADA professor and now he was stuck writing lines for two weeks. With a bloody blood quill. Ron looked at his hand that slowly started to scar and form the words, "I must not tell lies." That reminded Ron of the damned Ministry. Because of the Ministry, Harry had to go to wherever he is. But Ron could feel for his friend; he would have escaped to the Bahamas and chilled out if he was in Harry's shoes. Ron knew that if Harry stayed, possible worst fates could await him. If memory served Ron correctly, didn't the Ministry issue an arrest warrant for Harry? That's very bad news if Harry decided to show up. Ron shook his head and cleared his thoughts. Even though he had lost a friend, he had formed a closer bond with another; Hermione. Apparently, Ron had a misunderstanding with the "Viktor and Hermione" concept. After talking with Hermione for some time (ahem… more like shouting like hooligans), Ron saw through that he was being an arrogant bigot. That led to apologies, acceptance, and the ultimate kiss. Well, ultimate to Ron's point of view. The door emblazoned with the words "Dolores Umbridge" that Ron was walking towards brought Ron back to reality; blood quill time.

* * *

**A/N: Wow... I cannot express the thanks for the support. You guys rock!  
**

**This chapter was already done, which is why the update was quick.**

**As always, feel free to drop a review. A simple thanks can go a long way for me :P Could we reach 10 reviews?**

**Special thanks to:**

**daemonbarber**

**serialkeller**

**anthony37**

**ORgasmicPigeon**

**For dropping a review :)**

**Special thanks also for those that have fav'd and followed! You are not forgotten :P  
**

* * *

**Peace out, I need to finish my pack of Oreo's :I (I hope that :I looks like a full mouth of food :P)  
**

******Expect the next update about 1-2 weeks because I am having multiple exams coming up... and my Trigonometry assignment right now. **


	3. Chap 2 - Empty Handed

**A/N: For those of you that already read this, it's not another update yet. I just had to fix a bug that was more than just some typos. It does not affect the plot... **

**If you haven't read this chapter yet, then ignore this author's note.**

* * *

Harry checked the map for anybody in his way and of course, this ungodly hour had no one really roaming the corridors. Only Filtch practically, but that's no issue. Harry made sure no one was near before he slowly turned the knob on the door to the office labeled, "DOLORES UMBRIDGE, HIGH INQUISITOR."

Harry was met by the sight of a grimacing Ron that was seated with a piece of parchment in front of him and an Umbridge grinning as she was giving Ron the blood quill. Shit! How long has this been happening?! Shit! Harry was not expecting this at all. Quickly glamouring his hair blonde and covering his scar with a glamour also, Harry then disillusioned himself. Before the toad could hand over the instrument of torture, Harry unconsciously thought of destroying the blood quill.

Instantly, the quill exploded in the pudgy hand of Umbridge. She looked dumbly at her hand that was now adorned with a multitude of cuts and pieces from the exploded quill. Harry quickly fired a stunner at Umbridge before her brain could work out what just happened and then took the disillusioning charm off of himself. He then took a look at Ron, who was slightly sprayed with red from the quill. Ron just looked at Harry in slight confusion, "Err… thanks, but who are you?"

Harry lifted the glamour charms off of him and grinned, "Harry Potter at your service!"

Ron rubbed his eyes, "Blimey, mate, is it really you?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "No, I'm Barry Botter, the long lost brother of Harry Potter that also has a scar."

Ron grinned, "Harry mate! Long time no see!"

Harry firmly gripped Ron in a "man hug."

Harry nodded in agreement, "Good to see you too Ron."

Ron said, "So how did you know this bitch was giving me blood quills?"

Harry replied, "Dobby. Apparently he saw what happened to you today and he told me. Well, I was not expecting you to be here though… is that the blood quill's work on your right hand?"

Ron nodded, "Yep. Blasted quill is going to give me a nasty looking scar for now. So how about you?"

Harry shrugged, "Better than at the Dursleys of course. But being in hiding is not exactly comfortable is it not?"

Ron agreed, "Damn the Ministry… they all seem to back Fudge up and now we're in some limbo and you are on the run. Hermione has been trying to form a club to train ourselves in real Defense Against the Dark Arts, but we need a good place to meet and a good teacher, so we haven't been really going anywhere. Can you believe it? This bitch is giving us the ABC talk and making it seem like its real DADA. Blah! Bunch of nursery rhyme bullshit, they aren't even teaching us any spells for the matter! Heck, I think even a toddler knew more spells than the book they gave us."

Harry chuckled, "That bad Ron?"

Ron replied, "Yeah, it's that bad. Enough of this talk about a worthless bitch. So Hogwarts has been pretty normal so far and Snape's still a pain in the arse. Quidditch is shot though because the bitch deems the sport "non-educational" and "dangerous" or something like that. Good thing too as Gryffindor would have lost without you as a seeker… Oh yeah, Snuffles was worried about you, you know that right? He's been frantically scouring the country for you and right now I think he's in London. Moony's been chasing him around and trying to keep Snuffles out of trouble."

Harry snorted, "I can't imagine Moony would be the one chasing Sirius around the countryside."

Ron grinned, "And so it is."

A moment of silence was in the room before Harry resumed, "Just let Snuffles and Moony know that I am ok, alright?"

Ron nodded, "Sure thing mate. So where's Hedwig?"

Harry replied, "Still around, but I can't have anyone trace her to my hiding place at the moment."

Ron sheepishly grinned, "Sorry mate, totally slipped off my mind. So when do you think you'll be around?"

Harry shrugged, "No clue. Right now I need to get rid of Umbridge first. After that, I'm going to try to find incriminating information on the Minister so that the people will demand his resignation or call the politicians together for a vote of no-confidence. And after that, I think I should be in the clear, but Voldemort will always be something we need to solve in the end."

Ron rubbed his chin slightly in thought, "Sounds like a good plan mate. Well, I guess I'll see you around one of these days Harry. Oh yeah, Hermione says hi."

Harry replied, "Thanks, tell her I said hi too."

Ron left the room, leaving Harry alone with Umbridge in the room. Harry first went to the stack of blood quills and promptly vanished them. Next, he recalled what the book said about memories. Time for some memory changing…

Harry implanted a memory of Ron completing his torture and leaving, but somehow the quills are all gone and Umbridge needs to go get some more. Harry quickly did his work and extricated his mind away from Umbridge. Breathing a sigh of relief, he disillusioned himself. He was about to revive Umbridge when he realized the cuts on her hands are still there... Harry quickly extracted the splinters and wound a bandage on her hand. Now ready, Harry pointed at Umbridge's spot on the ground muttering, _Rennervate_.

The fat toad opened her eyes and groaned. She looked around slightly in bewilderment and looked down on her bandaged hand. She looked at it closely and looked around again. She looked at her hand. She then looked around. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she looked between her hand and her surroundings; she was probably trying to figure out the astronomical situation at hand (no pun intended). Harry stifled a snigger; what a dumb toad. It took her a good five minutes before she revived the ability to move and started to move towards the door. Following her, Harry hoped this would work. Stage one to be executed.

Harry found himself following Umbridge out of the school. Of course… apparation is impossible on Hogwarts' grounds. Quickly thinking, Harry held a finger out that touched her back (the safest spot to Harry's opinion, although to be honest, there was NOTHING safe to touch on the toad. You know what? Forget what just happened. Just look away.) and she apparated away.

Landing in the middle of some room, Harry quickly distanced himself away from the toad. Damn… she needs deodorant and Harry thought apparating was bad enough. This was a hundred times worse. Harry at this point doubted the woman's true blood heritage; she was probably really part-toad. Looks, acts, and smells like toad; don't they say what looks like a duck and quacks like a duck is a duck? Oh well, that's not the time right now. Harry quietly followed Umbridge through a labyrinth of doors and rooms. Harry somehow felt this place was oddly… Ministryish. Duh Harrry, why did you not think of it before? Probably good ol' Fudge was providing her the blood quills in the first place. Damn… plan is shot down.

Finally, after what felt like a rollercoaster ride through doors and hallways, Umbridge strode into an office. Quickly slipping in before she shut the door, Harry hid in a corner.

Umbridge smiled at Fudge, who was currently writing something onto a piece of parchment in front of him. The toad smiled, "Dear Fudgy-poo, could you lend me another dozen of your blood quills? And could you send me a healer for my hand?"

Harry gagged. Fudgy-poo?! Man… this is corny shit.

More frighteningly, Fudge nodded and smiled like a creep. Harry had a feeling things weren't going to be exactly eye-friendly and left the office discreetly. By then, Harry was far enough so that he wasn't mind-raped to death. Thanks the heavens and Merlin for silencing charms; it's a MAJOR blessing. But now Harry was back to square one; the toad now has a new supply of blood quills and apparently Fudge is providing the smoke-screen. Wait a minute! That's it! Now Harry needs to blackmail a certain Rita bug for a picture. This is perfect! Now Harry could box the toad and the minister. Hmm… let's see how that goes.

Harry though needed to get out of the Ministry before he could do anything and that was the problem. Well this is friggin' great; Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, is stuck in a maze full of people that would happily oblige shutting him behind bars with a score of dementors even though they had previously celebrated his birthday for "defeating" Voldemort. Icing on a cake some say; no, this ain't no icing. This is total political bullshit concoction courtesy of Fudge. Damn him…

Harry first did something most intelligent humans or wizards for the matter do when lost; find or get a map. Of course, a map wasn't as easy as, "Accio map!"

A map zoomed into Harry's outstretched hand. Huh, that's odd. Well, let's cut the chase short then. Harry opened the folded piece of parchment and found… a map of the janitor's closet detailing every nook and cranny and what was in each of those nooks and crannies. Harry then attempted to summon a map. Another folded piece of parchment flew into his outstretched hand. Opening it, he saw… a map of the woman's loo complete with – ah! Harry burned the parchment on the spot and shoved the memory away. Perverted male Auror no doubt… anywho, "Accio Ministry map!"

A map whirred into Harry's outstretched hand. Harry unfolded it and found his location sitting smack dab in the middle of the building. So Harry is here… of course it's near the Minister's office. Let's see… Floo? Other side of the building. Apparation points? Other side of the building too. Front door? Still some distance away. Hmm… where to go. He could use the Floo, but nah; it was too risky. Apparation? Not in the Ministry building. So the only option left – a direct exit out the front door. How quaint; Harry hoped that the guards and Ministry workers are under the assumption that they were looking for an "intruding" Harry Potter, not an "escaping" Harry Potter. So first things first; Harry needed some sort of Ministry uniform. The janitor perhaps?

Harry walked towards the janitor's closet and opened it. A myriad of devices and objects lay around. Unfolding the map of the janitor's room he had summoned earlier, Harry scanned for uniforms. Uniform… uniform… come on. No uniform?! That's crazy. Well, there's a yellow hard hat… and a broom with a bucket. Harry shrugged; that should do. Well, actually one more thing. Harry transfigured his clothing into a plain brown shirt and pants. No, he's not going to deliver packages like the UPS guy; it just seems appropriate for a Ministry janitor to be brown-clad, or that's what Harry hoped.

Harry carried the broom and bucket and "diligently" started to sweep wherever he could. Walking towards the exit that was a good three hundred feet away from him, Harry started the long sweeping journey. Occasionally making small fluffs of dust, the workers around him and the guards ignored Harry. Harry felt like he was playing Metal Gear as Snake… nah. This is Ministry Gear with Harry Potter armed with a broom.

Harry made some progress in the next fifteen minutes of randomly sweeping and slowly walking sideways towards the exit when a horde of workers convened in the area in front of him. Talking boisterously, Harry's heart sank. There was no way he was going through the crowd of Aurors and Ministry workers; one wrong move and he's toast. Harry resumed sweeping and slowly edged himself around a corner.

Finally, after five minutes, Harry found himself alone with a wall behind him. Taking out the map and inspecting it, he found another route. But the twisting and turning… it's going to take even longer. Damn the crowd of workers; couldn't life get any better?

Harry disillusioned himself; he gave up trying the janitor persona. Taking the alternative route, ANOTHER Merlin-damned crowd was there blocking the way too. Harry had long discarded the broom and bucket and made his way around back to where he started from. Seeing the way was clear now, Harry made for a direct exit.

Right before Harry was halfway to the exit, alarms blared in the Ministry. Harry cringed and a voice seemed to resonate in the entire building, "CODE RED! I REPEAT CODE RED! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! SIRIUS BLACK HAS BEEN SIGHTED IN THE BUILDING! ALL AURORS REPORT TO YOUR COMMANDING OFFICERS! TO ALL MINISTRY WORKERS; EVACUATE POST-HASTE! UNSPEAKABLES; REPORT TO FUDGE DIRECTLY! "

Shit. Harry was about to make a mad dash for the exit when a thought struck him; what if they captured Sirius again? No shit he was going to leave Sirius here; that's just plain wrong. Harry turned around and crossed his fingers Sirius was not too far from him.

* * *

Tonks groaned as nothing helped her lead to her target. Wait a minute, is that -

A message spell hit her at that moment, eliciting another groan. Damn…

Tonks saw the message and quickly apparated to the Ministry. She had to save her Uncle; no way she was letting him get in Azkaban again especially since he's innocent! Something at that moment slightly bothered her, but she shrugged it off. Maybe it's…

* * *

Harry quickly thought about what to do. Yes!

"Dobby!"

A loud pop pierced the air, "Harry Potter sir?"

Harry asked the house-elf, "Do you know where Sirius is Dobby?"

Dobby eagerly nodded, "Yes Harry Potter sir! Sirius is not far here!"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, "Good. Could you bring him back to Grimmauld and tell him that Harry is fine and to stop searching for him? Also, let me know when he's back at Grimmauld."

Dobby again eagerly nodded, "Indeed Harry Potter sir!"

The house-elf popped away and Harry slunk to a corner and hid there for the moment.

After waiting for half a minute, Harry saw Dobby pop in view, "It is done Harry Potter sir!"

Harry smiled, "Thanks Dobby."

Dobby bowed, "No problem Harry Potter sir. Me go back to Hogwarts now."

The house-elf popped out and Harry continued smiling like a dork for a second before realizing he was still smack dab in the middle of the Ministry. Shit! This was no time to daydream!

Harry quickly ran out towards the exit. Come on! Harry urged his heels to go faster. Only fifty more feet…

Someone behind Harry shouted, "Where the hell is Black?!"

Harry almost froze in fear, but as the message processed, Harry continued running. If they found him, he needed to run anyways. He needed to get out of here while the Ministry was still preoccupied. Before he could get within reach of the doors that were a few feet away, Harry felt himself getting thrown backwards. Skidding on the floor, Harry found that his robes had gotten slightly dusty from the rough landing and a slightly hurting bum. That was not of the current issue though. What the hell just happened? Harry inspected his surroundings, wasting a few precious seconds trying to identify anything that is causing Harry to be thrown back. And he found… a place where a card-sized object would fit. So you need to be a Ministry worker to get in and out of the building with your id. That is just great… damn. This sucks. Wait a second… WTH is he thinking? Harry face-palmed himself. Why not have Dobby bring him back to Hogwarts in the first place? Dobby!

No response.

Err… Dobby? Could you beam me back?

No response.

Dobby! Can you hear me?

Nothing... crap. Harry checked his around himself and found no one around. Thinking, Harry quickly bounded over to the receptionists desk. Come on! Need a bloody passcard, id, anything! Harry quickly looked through drawers, folders, anything that could contain a bloody card or card-shaped object. Drawer #101: NOTHING. Folder #202: NOTHING. File #303: NOTHING

Harry then thought of something; summoning charm. Harry reached his hand out and thought of summoning a Ministry tag. Harry crouched and waited.

After a minute, a card zoomed into view and Harry deftly caught it. Sticking it into the slot, Harry made a run for the exit and ran outside. If he looked carefully at the card, he would have noticed that it had a picture of a fat pink woman with the title HIGH INQUISITOR on the bottom of the photo.

* * *

**A/N: So here's the third chapter. I'm currently focusing on working on my mainfic, so updates for this might be slow. When I'm finished with the mainfic I'm working on (probably 2-3 more months), updates for this will be more regular (and longer chapters).**

**Thanks for reading, your reviews, and your support! **

**Feel free to drop a review; your thanks and constructive criticism are all welcome :)**

**It would be nice if this can reach 20 reviews...**

**And it seems like there's a beacon of hope for Tonks... not yet though :P**

**BTW: This fic is absolutely non-bashing; if you want a bash, there's plenty of them out there. I think the bashing is just too cliche.**

**Special thanks to:**

**Goldencoyote**

**anthony37**

**mwinter1**

**geetac**

**plums**

**ArthurB**

**koryandrs**

**For dropping a review!**

**Thanks to those also that have fav'd and followed, it's a pusher :P**

**And replying to southern-reader... go read another fic; there's plenty out there.**


End file.
